Follow by Email

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Sock Summit

Greetings from Portland OR, home of the second Sock Summit. We just finished doing a Flash Mob out in front of the Oregon Convention Center. What a hoot!!! It seems to be the norm here for the sock knitters to have multiple colors in their hair, tattoos, and piercings. And who said knitters are little old ladies. There we all were, about 1000 of us, and with the other 1000 watching and taking pictures, doing our yarn dance to music. Unbeknownst to me, people had been practicing this dance for weeks, but I stood in the back and followed everyone, and it was great fun. I'm sure it's going to be up on YouTube in in no time flat. Google for Sock Summit Flash Dance; you won't regret it.

My classes here have been nothing short of spectactular. I taught Austrian traveling twisted stitches to 31 people, and there wasn't a single time when I had to repeat anything. They were the most expert bunch of knitters I have ever encountered, and it has been the same for all my other classes. Strick-ly Socks was a smash success, with everyone producing a perfect sample toe, and today I did the Magical Switch for Tubular Bind Off, and again, everyone had 100% success. These women are fun, energetic, and not afraid of anything. Lots of them are walking around wearing tiaras, and I desperately want one to wear too!!

I have been showered with gifts from my students, from chocolate to beautiful hand-made stitch markers. The market is, again...I hate to keep using the word, but it's wonderful. I finally rounded out my collection of Signature circular needles. I now am the proud owner of sizes 3-9. One of the good things about this market is that there is no sales tax here in Oregon. Oh..should I mention there was a Dansko booth in the market? I got a pair of purple patent leather clogs which are TOO cool. Alas, I am forced to actually wear them home on the plane, as there's no room in my luggage for them.

I also have the disk for the Intertwined Studio computer stitch program, which I am dying to try out. This program allows you to make charts with all the standard knitting symbols, create your own, AND, lets you put text right into the charts. This is what I have been waiting for, and Heatherly Walker, who is the creator of this, was in one of my classes.

I stopped in at Kimber's booth, Optic Fiber, to show her the shawl using her yarn that is almost done. It's a beauty, and will be ready to go for Stitches Midwest. She is the most amazing dyer, and her yarns are some of the most beautiful hand-dyes I have ever seen. Another talented hand-dyer is Miss Babs, whose yarns draw me in like a moth to a flame (but moths also love yarn, so that's pretty weird, huh?)

Soon I will be back in CT, then off again to Stitches Midwest in Chicago.

Cheers to all from beautiful Portland, where it hasn't rained once since I arrived.

About Me

I have been married to the same man since 1974, and we have three grown sons. We have a pet rabbit and 2 birds. I travel the country, and sometimes the world, teaching knitting. My husband and I run our yarn business, Merging Colors, from our home. My latest book, Strick-ly Socks, was just released. We are very excited about this book, as it opens up a whole new method of knitting socks. The heels and toes are knit flat. Although it seems impossible, there are no seams. The sock can be knit to fit any size foot/leg. The heel options give a custom fit for every type of foot. When I am not working, I like to travel, or do something totally for myself, like knit myself a sweater!